Emerging out of Covid crisis: Helping publicans' bottom line

As the number of pubs declines, those who hope to reopen after the pandemic need to assess their businesses and make savings

Time was, not so long ago, when the idea of owning a pub was a universal dream for many. In a nation where the local public house had traditionally served as ‘the second living room’ for generations, it seemed a business as solid as the cut stone and oak beams adorning many such places across the country. 

But times change, and pubs, particularly those in rural locations, have seen a dramatic decline over recent years. 

There were 1,477 fewer pubs in Ireland in 2018 than in 2005, representing a 17.1% drop in businesses across the country, according to research by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland. The arrival of Covid-19 has heaped further pressure upon the industry — forcing many publicans to assess their businesses and find savings where they can. 

Sean O'Mahony.

Kerry publican Sean O’Mahony is one such individual, having recently launched a new start-up company, Licensed Premises of Ireland, aimed at significantly reducing overheads for publicans as they prepare to re-open after lockdown. 

The LPOI will provide services designed to reduce the cost of mainstream utilities for customers, an initiative that will start by targeting everyday expenses that weigh heavily on licensed premises, including merchant services, cash handling, gas and electricity. 

It will work with individual owners of pubs, restaurants, hotels and nightclubs to analyse their day to day running costs, and use new partnerships to see those costs reduced. 

The LPOI has already worked with a number of pilot premises during lockdown to identify where value could be achieved, with surprising results. 

“It is quite fitting that the company chose to launch a year to the day that public houses and licensed premises throughout the country were first closed,” says Sean. 

"The bitter pill to swallow during this crisis, is that I was still paying for services even though my business was closed.

"Once I reviewed the expenditure for my own bar, I was shocked at some of the costs I was paying, to be honest.

It costs between €250 and €300 per day for a small pub just to open its doors. 

"Unfortunately, I think I became somewhat complacent over the years and stayed with the same providers and suppliers out of pure convenience.

"We are excited for the future of Licensed Premises of Ireland and know that we can make a positive difference to the future of the licensed trade”.

A number of exclusive partnership deals have been secured with service providers, most notably with Brink’s Ireland. 

Denise McCarthy, head of sales at Brink’s Cash Services Ireland said: “We are excited to be working with Licensed Premises of Ireland in relation to the cash handling aspect of their business. The exclusive offer arranged for LPOI customers offers significantly lower cash processing and coin/note supply rates than what financial institutions are offering.

"This coupled with the fact that owners will no longer need to travel to the bank will ensure that not only will customers save money but also valuable time and resources.” 

Negotiations are at an advanced stage with a number of other service providers and further industry partners will be announced shortly.

This is not the first time that Sean has innovated to support the licensed trade in Ireland, having previously launched ‘Social Spin’ in 2019 in conjunction with Diageo and the Vintners Federation of Ireland. The head office of Licensed Premises of Ireland will be based in Faha, Killarney, Co Kerry, with sales teams operating across the 26 counties.